Believes Unasp Believes Unasp

Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 22:11, 12; Jer. 30:5–7; Ps. 91:1–11; Jer. 25:33; Rev. 21:2; Rev. 20:11–15.Memory Text:“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Revelation 21:3, 4, NKJV).We can face the future with hope. Although challenging times are coming, whatever suffering we must go through, whatever hardships we must endure, whatever sorrows we experience, if we have hope a better day is coming, we can live life today with purpose and joy. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president during 1933–1945, one of the most difficult periods of U.S. history. He was paralyzed by polio and unable to walk unaided. He once wrote, “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction, that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” Albert Einstein, one of the world’s most brilliant men, wrote, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Alfred Lord Tennyson, a popular English poet during Queen Victoria’s reign, once wrote, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘It will be happier.’ ”In this quarter’s final lesson, we will see Christ’s steadfast love during the most exciting time in the history of the universe and His complete triumph in the great controversy. The Bible’s last book, Revelation, gives us hope for today, tomorrow, and forever.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 39–42 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 29.

As early as 1851, Adventist pioneers identified the second beast of Revelation 13:11–17 with the United States of America. But it must have been difficult back then to see how the United States could cause all the world to worship the first beast (Rev. 13:12). Even by the 1880s the entire United States Navy consisted of just forty-eight aging ships.But since the end of the Cold War, no power matches the United States militarily. And though Americans have enjoyed wonderful freedoms, as times get harder, it’s not difficult to see those freedoms being trampled on—or even completely undermined. Many believe that even now we are seeing this happen.“All who refuse compliance [in observing the false sabbath] will be visited with civil penalties, and it will finally be declared that they are deserving of death. On the other hand, the law of God enjoining the Creator’s rest day demands obedience and threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 604.“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 608.Discussion Questions:Why is an understanding of last-day events so important in the coming crisis? How are the Scriptures a safeguard from deception?Democratic societies worldwide have been bastions of religious freedom for centuries. How might that change rather quickly?Look at Ellen White’s statement above. What choices are you making today that could result in your being with those professed Adventists tomorrow?How does the second angel’s message change under the loud cry, and what personal preparation can we make for receiving the latter rain to finish God’s work on earth?

Read Revelation 18:1–4, Habakkuk 2:14, and Matthew 24:14. How do these verses say God’s work on earth will be finished?The angel announcing the fall of Babylon has “great authority.” Like the angels of Revelation 14, this angel represents human messengers. This angel reveals the glory of God so fully that it illuminates the entire earth. The Greek word for authority or power in the New Testament is exousia. It often refers to Christ’s triumph over the principalities and powers of hell. Jesus uses this word in the gospel of Matthew in harmony with the sending out of His disciples. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gives His disciples authority over the principalities and powers of hell. He sends them out with the divine power to be victorious in the battle between good and evil. In Matthew 28, He once again sends them out with “ ‘all authority . . . in heaven and on earth’ ” to “ ‘go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ ” (Matt. 28:18, 19, NKJV).Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, going forth with the authority of the living Christ who in His life and death triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell, the New Testament church lightened the earth with the glory of God. In a few short years, the disciples proclaimed the gospel to the then-known world (Col. 1:23).At the end time, the Holy Spirit will be poured out in unprecedented power, and the gospel will be spread rapidly to the ends of the earth. Thousands will be converted in a day, and God’s grace and truth will impact the entire planet. In this way, the world will be warned and the gospel, and the hope it offers, will be spread worldwide.“The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. . . .“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.What is holding back the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, and the loud cry? However small our role as individuals might be, what role can we fill in being open and receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

Read Joel 2:21–24 and Acts 2:1–4, 41–47. What prediction was fulfilled in the first century? What impact did it have?The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost powerfully launched the Christian church. Three thousand were converted in a day. Acts records miracle after miracle of God’s transforming grace: “Many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4, NKJV). Only 120 believers gathered to pray, but prayer made a dramatic difference. Rapidly the church added thousands of believers. Even “a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7, NKJV). Yes, even many priests became followers of Jesus.When the disciples were fiercely persecuted in Jerusalem, they “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4, NKJV). Churches were planted throughout all Judea, Samaria, and Galilee (see Acts 9:31). After his conversion, the apostle Paul proclaimed Christ throughout the Mediterranean world. In Thessalonica, some Jews opposed to the gospel made this astonishing statement: “ ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too’ ” (Acts 17:6, NKJV). What a powerful testimony to what the early church was able to accomplish. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples reached the then-known world in a relatively short time. Joel’s prediction of the early rain was fulfilled at Pentecost, but the latter rain will fall with greater power to ready earth’s final harvest.Read Zechariah 4:6; Zechariah 10:1; Hosea 6:3; and James 5:7, 8. According to these verses, how will the work of God on earth be finished?The terms “early” and “latter” rain are taken from Israel’s harvest cycle. The early rain fell in the fall of the year to germinate the seed. The latter rain fell in the spring to ripen the harvest. This describes the work of the Holy Spirit for the proclamation of the gospel. “As the ‘former rain’ was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the ‘latter rain’ will be given at its close for the ripening of the harvest. ”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.

In the last days, the great controversy will be played out, in a dramatic way, over worship. Do we worship the Creator, or do we worship the beast and its image? There is no middle ground. The first angel of Revelation 14 urges men and women to “ ‘worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV). In further support of heaven’s appeal, the third angel reveals the dire consequences of worshiping the beast: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation” (Rev. 14:10). By contrast, those who worship the Creator are described as keeping “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV).Creation is the basis of true worship (Rev. 4:11). Since God “created all things through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 3:9, NKJV), Satan hates the Creator and has attempted, through earthly powers, to change the Sabbath, the memorial of Creation (Dan. 7:25). The coming conflict over the law of God focuses on authority. If Satan can eradicate Sabbath worship, he will declare that his authority is greater than God’s authority. To accomplish this, Satan will attempt to convince or coerce the entire world to accept a counterfeit Sabbath.However hard it may be now to see this happening, as we have noted before, the world is changing dramatically. The COVID-19 crisis showed us that, overnight, our world can become a different place. Though we don’t know the details that lead to the mark of the beast, it’s not terribly hard to imagine. The world is very unstable, and with the amazing technology out there now, what the Bible warns about can, indeed, come to pass more quickly than we might now imagine.Read Revelation 13:13–17. What specific penalties are inflicted upon those who do not receive the mark of the beast?Those who are faithful to Christ, as opposed to following the beast and its image, will face economic penalties as well as the threat of death. Humanity remains what it has always been: corrupt, power-hungry, and violent. However much we don’t yet know about exactly how the final events will unfold, it should not be too hard to envision end-time persecution. Though written in another context completely, these words in John say it all. Talking about Jesus, John wrote that He “had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25, NKJV).Think about the corruption of humanity and the evil that humans are capable of doing. Why does this show how easily final events could come about? Also, even more important, what should this sad truth teach us about guarding our own hearts?

In the coming crisis over worship, God’s faithful people will not yield to worldly pressures (Rev. 14:12). They will be sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and cannot be moved. In ancient times, seals attested to the authenticity of official documents. They were a distinctive, individualized mark. Since the final conflict centers on worship and God’s authority as revealed in His law, we would expect God’s seal to be embedded in His law (compare Isa. 8:16).Read Exodus 20:8–11. What elements of a seal are contained in the Sabbath commandment?Here we have three elements of an authentic seal: (1) the name to whom the seal belongs, “the Lord thy God;” (2) His title, the One who “made”—the Creator; (3) and His territory, “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.” A seal is sometimes called a sign in the Bible (Rom. 4:11). The two words are interchangeable. As God’s sign or seal in the heart of God’s law, the Sabbath is at the center of the final conflict over worship (Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 12:17).Compare Revelation 7:1, 2 and Revelation 14:1 with Revelation 13:16, 17. Where are the seal of God and the mark of the beast received? Why do you think there is a difference?The seal of God is placed on the forehead. The forehead is a symbol of the mind and represents a conscious decision.The mark of the beast is received either in the forehead or in the hand indicating that people are convinced intellectually and by their own choice accept Satan’s lies or, alternatively, they conform to false worship to avoid being killed.The devil hates those who are obedient to God. The great controversy comes to a climax when the dragon (Satan) wages war on the believing remnant, who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV). They are settled in their loyalty to Christ.Why is day-by-day faithfulness to the Lord the key to being prepared when the final crisis arrives?